How do I add my children’s names to the title of my house?

Question

Douglas Tull · Answer

Generally speaking, you should not do so.  Consult with an estate planning attorney - and ask him/her about possibly using a Ladybird Deed instead of putting children's names on title.  With a Ladybird Deed - you convey a life estate to yourself, and give the remainder to your named beneficiary(ies) - which could be a trust, if you have one, or your children, if you do not - This type of life estate reserves to you during your lifetime, the power to convey, mortgage, or otherwise deal with the property in any way you deem fit - so you could sell it, if you wanted to move to Florida, for example, and not have to get your children's OK to do so.

Christine James · Answer

First, make sure there are no tax consequences to doing so. Then you will need to prepare and record a Quitclaim or Grant Deed.

Gerald Bagazinski · Answer

You can do this by creating a quit claim deed. This is an easy way for you to leave your property to your children but there are many pitfalls. If you are on medicaid it may be considered a divestment. If you may apply for medicaid in the next 5 years it is considered a divestment. If you leave your property Joint tenants with rights of survivorship, the survivor takes unless all the parties agree to sell. If you want to sell in the future, you need your children to agree. You should discuss this matter further with an attorney. There are better alternatives.

Victor Waid · Answer

Don't do what you are requesting unless you have consulted a real estate lawyer as to the pros and cons of your proposed decision; otherwise you may regret your action in the future, and your proposed action does not avoid probate.

Daniel J. Pingelton · Answer

You should speak to an estate planning attorney before you try to do that.

Andrew Byers · Answer

With a deed but you *should not* do this.  Adding your children as co-owners of your home can have negative tax and Medicaid consequences.  In addition, it exposes you to risk if your children are sued, get divorced, have a bankruptcy, or need to qualify for government benefits.

David McAndrew · Answer

Quitclaim them onto the deed. The question is, are you leaving them survivorship benefits.

James E. Reed · Answer

Prepare, sign, and record a deed conveying the house from you to you and your children (probably as joint tenants with full rights of survivorship). Definitely don't do this if any of the children are under the age of 18 and, certainly consult with an attorny because there are many issues to discuss and consider before doing this.

Charles Perry · Answer

You must prepare a new deed that transfer title from you to you and your children. I suggest you speak with an estate planning lawyer about  this. A transfer of title in the manner you suggest can cause more problems than they solve. There may be better ways to handle the property transfer and satisfy your estate planning needs.

John Brennan · Answer

Engage an attorney who will draft the deed. However you should seek counsel before making changes.

William Wilson · Answer

You will need to sign a Deed transferring the property.

Brian Haggerty · Answer

Please don't. This is not a good idea (my opinion, based on my experience). Joint ownership of real property rarely works out for the children, and very often will result in economic loss and unnecessary grief. Besides, you may disqualify yourself from public benefits by deeding the property to your children, or you may disqualify one or more of the children, and you make your home a target for liens and identity theft your children are subject to. Make a will. Probate is not a lengthy or expensive process in Oregon; it is clean, well understood, and it results at the end of the day in a judgment which finally settles all your affairs.

Sandra Alexander · Answer

You will need to prepare a new deed.

Don Rosenberg · Answer

Frankly that is the worst thing you can do. You will become partners with their current and future problems. There is a much better way to do this. You can establish a living trust or lady bird deed.

James Frederick · Answer

I recommend that if they are adults, that you use a "lady bird" deed. Michigan law specifically provides for these deeds under the land title standards act. I strongly suggest that you use an attorney to assist you with this, as there are many traps, if done incorrectly. This should not be expensive.

Shadi Ala'i AlaiShaffer · Answer

You shouldn't, you should create an estate plan. A revocable living trust and have them as the beneficiaries of the home. Or depending on what your needs and goals are you should consult with an attorney before doing anything.

Ben Liu · Answer

You can do a quit claim deed. But there may be better options like a trust. Consult with an attorney.

Phillip Day · Answer

Prepare a new deed. However, you may not need to depending on what you are trying to accomplish. I would highly recommend  speaking to an estate planning attorney and discuss your overall objective. Florida homestead rules may come into play and you may not need to do anything. Also, by adding your children to your title, you will be creating gift tax consequences and built-in capital gain issues for your children. Doing things in a vacuum may trigger the proverbial can of worms so tread softly and get some good guidance.

James Oberholtzer · Answer

You record a Deed conveying title to them and you. It is hard to get the language right on the Deed to fit your situation. I recommend that you do not do this without first consulting an attorney. If you do it wrong, it can very bad consequences.

Edward Armstrong · Answer

My recommendation would be to have a beneficiary deed prepared making them the owners on your death. I'm assuming the mortgage is paid off if you do still have a mortgage and die while you still owe the lender whoever takes the property on your death takes subject to the mortgage. Using this type of deed leaves you free to do whatever you want with the property. You can also have a quitclaim deed prepared re-titling the house in your name and the names of your children as co-owners with you. I don't recommend this method as you are giving a present interest to your children and anything you wish to do with the property must be approved by them as co-owners (i.e., they would have to sign any conveyance on sale or re-financing).

Frances Headley · Answer

It can be done by quit claim or grant deed but you should consult a real estate and/or an estate planning attorney to discuss all of the facts and ramifications of adding their names.

Monica H. Donaldson Stewart · Answer

This can be done by executing the proper kind of deed; however, before you add your children to the deed (which gives them a current ownership interest in your house), I recommend you consult with an attorney who can discuss your objectives and help you determine whether there is a more effective way to accomplish them.

Michael Doland · Answer

The answer will depend to some extent on what you want to accomplish. The procedure is a deed from you to you and your children. The question of 1) "as tenants in common" 2) 'as joint tenants" or other alternatives is why an interview with an attorney is advisable.

Dara J. Goldsmith · Answer

That is not something you just do without evaluating the consequences of the same. You should meet with an attorney to address what risks you will face and benefits that you may lose by doing so. You may want to consider a death beneficiary designation to avoid numerous issues. Again I urge you to speak with an attorney about what you are trying to achieve and why.

Neil Lehto · Answer

Most easily, you can add them to the title by using a quit-claim deed naming yourself as grantor and naming yourself and your children as grantees. Once recorded, you cannot undo your request without all of them agreeing. Adding them does not obligate them on any mortgage you may be paying on but would obligate them to all of the duties of a landowner to persons injured on the property. Doing so is a taxable event for federal gift tax purposes for which there are large dollar value exemptions.

Frank Granato · Answer

Prepare a Grant Deed transferring an interest to your children. See an attorney before you proceed.

Roman Aminov · Answer

You have to convey a deed from the current owners to the current owners PLUS your children. I would highly advise that you contact a lawyer for this transaction as there are numerous tax, Medicaid, and legal consequences of such a transfer.

Mark T. Peters · Answer

You would probably create a quit-claim deed from you as grantor to you and your children.  However, there are some technicalities. Do you want to stay in the house until you die? If so, you might want to deed yourself a life estate with the remainder to our children. Also, you need to think about whether you want your children to be joint tenants or tenants in common. As joint tenants, if one of them dies, their share disappears. As tenants in common, if one of them dies, their share would go to their heirs. It would probably be a good idea to talk this over with an attorney to make sure that it is done properly.

Norman Green · Answer

You record a deed. Why do you want to do this? Be sure you realize that if one of your children incures debts or faces bankruptcy that you might lose the house.

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How do I add my children’s names to the title of my house?

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